Adventures in the kitchen and on the Big Green Egg

Welcome to Bakin’ and Eggs! I started this food blog in November 2008 as a way to share my culinary adventures with friends and family. Over the last year the blog has grown quite a bit and I’ve enjoyed receiving visitors from all over and interacting with other bloggers and food lovers.

My dad is the reason I started cooking. He is a talented self-taught cook who has mastered everything from grilling the perfect rib eye to baking a 14-layer cake. He has helped me grow into the cook I am by answering endless questions, buying me great cooking gear and books and offering encouragement along the way.

In January 2010 I announced a small format change to Bakin’ and Eggs. I started discussing my fitness and nutrition on the blog after hearing the question, “How do you cook/bake all of that food and still stay fit?” over and over. Fitness and nutrition are my second love – when I’m not in the kitchen you can find me pounding the pavement, teaching group exercise classes or in the yoga studio. I’m a runner, BodyPump instructor and aspiring yogi.

After several months of trying to do both I realized that I really needed a separate blog dedicated to healthy living. On April 16 I officially launched Peanut Butter Runner. This blog is more “a day in the life of Jen.” Bakin’ and Eggs will stay focused on food and recipes. I hope you’ll check it out!

I hope I can inspire everyone that it is possible to enjoy delicious food and indulgent treats while maintaining a healthy balance. Thanks for visiting and come back often!

I knew you were a good cook, but wow, I’m really impressed. Your dishes look professional. I’m siked April told me about this site. Now I can steal your recipes and make them for Christian & Emma. April and I are going to have to make a trip to the Ham and I’ll bring you some fresh & local Thomasville Sweet Grass Dairy cheese! YUM.

Thank you for creating (and sticking with) such a fantastically varied food blog. I just found this tonight in a random Google search and am so impressed with both the presentation of the dishes and the dishes themselves!

I wanted to let you know that our website, FoodieView (www.foodieview.com) recently launched a new feature, Foodie Views of the Day (www.foodieview.com/views/). The idea is to provide an alternative forum where foodies can share their culinary photography talents. The feature also allows your readers to vote on their favorite pictures.

We would really love showcase some of your photos on Foodie Views of the Day. Please let us know if you are comfortable with our use of the photos from bakin’ and eggs. Additionally, if you have photos to which you are particularly partial, or which you would especially like to show off, please feel free to send them to me or to submit them directly to the site by following this link: http://www.foodieview.com/views/submit_info.jsp

I went back to November 2008 and watched your food photography really improve in the last year. I’m both impressed and jealous! Did you get a new camera, or just learn some simple ways to do great food photography?

Thanks so much for checking out my blog and for the kind words about my food photography improving.

Sadly, there has been no new camera for me. I’m using an el cheapo Canon point and shoot. It actually gets good light and takes fairly decent pics. I think most of the improvement has come from learning the best light to use for food, understanding camera settings and lots of editing in post!

Here are a few tips that work for me:
– Use natural light whenever possible!
– If no natural light is available, try to take your pictures under a more white light as opposed to the lights with the yellow cast. Think about building a light box if it’s hard for you to get natural light pictures. Sometimes I’ll even replate leftovers the next day to shoot if it’s too late to get a good shot.
– Use the Digital Macro setting on your camera
– Use good photo editing software

Thanks for the tips! I’m using a point-and-shoot as well, the Fujifilm F30. I’ve had it for about 3 years and am still really impressed with how well it takes pictures! It’s clear though that I need to work on my lighting. I noticed that even the warm compact fluorescent in our living room works better than the halogen lighting elsewhere in our house.

My biggest problem? As soon as the food is ready, everybody wants to eat!!! Stopping everything so I can take pictures is getting in the way of the wild consumption. *laugh* Ah well. I just need to learn to snap quickly and have a good lighting setup.

Thanks again for the reply and the kind comments — greatly appreciated!

I am a friend of your mom and dad from Dublin, GA. I will share dinner and conversation with your mom when she is in Washington DC on November 5! During my time in Dublin, I throughly enjoyed “foodie conversations” with your dad! I am glad to learn you have carried on his legacy. I have already been asking your mom – what’s on your dad’s thanksgiving menu. What’s on yours?

SO glad to have you in my class… I will be continually checking out your blog for new ideas and inspiration. When you are ready to meal plan for folks, I better be on the short list. (I NEED help!)
What is the first of your recipes that I should try…?

Hi there, just wanted to say hello to a fellow healthy blogger. I am at the moment qualifying as a BodyPump instructor and look forward to following your blog.🙂 What do you think of the new 73 release? It’s tough, huh?🙂

Vee – thanks so much for the comment and the follow! I will definitely check out your blog. Hope your certification is going well.

As for the new release – it’s pretty tough. I think the squat track is especially challenging and definitely gets your heart rate up!🙂 We launched last week so I’ve been teaching it for the past week and a half. Don’t love all the music selections but understand they have to use more covers now.

I just came across your blog and have already bookmarked many recipes! I started my blog about the same time I became passionate about running and fitness so I was excited to see that you have a blog dedicated to healthy living.

Beautifully written intro to you! Isn’t it funny how people assume food bloggers should be overweight?? I guess people still hold to the old saying “Can’t trust a skinny chef” – I totally agree with you that health/fitness is as exciting as cooking, and believe in everything in moderation when it comes to food!